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I came across this additional information. In January 1983, Schenley sold the plant we now know as Buffalo Trace, along with the whiskey inventory and some brands (primarily Ancient Age), to Ferdie A. Falk and Robert C. Baranaskas. They called their company Age International.
Check out www.blantonsbourbon.com (Copyright 2004, Age International, Inc. All Rights Reserved). Age International apparently still exists as an entity of Takara, or at least they like to keep using the name (dba?).
Yeah, I'm sure it's just a dba. Most of the names in bourbon history--more glorious than Age International, to be sure--live on in dba form. Heaven Hill has dozens, as do most of the distilleries. In this case, you also have to figure they don't want the name of a Japanese company too prominent on a bourbon, at least not for the American audience. (Nothing against the Japanese, just any taint of foreign ownership.)
Did you notice the review by our own Greg Kitzmiller?
Is this why the higher proof versions of Blanton's are not available in the states, i.e., the Japanese control the marketing of the product? http://www.straightbourbon.com/forum...lins/frown.gif
What does dba stand for?
"Doing business as"
A dba ('doing business as') name is also known as an assumed business name. In some cases, simple registration of the name with some local licensing authority is all that is necessary for you to put the name on your checking account, for example (so you can cash checks written to that entity). In the case of the distilleries it's a little more formal. The names are registered with the Kentucky Secretary of State's office so anyone who chooses to do a little research can trace them back to the "real" company. It used to be customary to hang a sign outside the distillery when you were "operating as" the assumed name company. Now it's mostly a bookeeping thing, but it does permit Heaven Hill to put "Old Evan Williams Distillery" on Evan Williams bourbon, and not mention Heaven Hill anywhere. It's like a subsidiary except the subsidiary's only asset is the name itself. DBA names are not unique to the whiskey business. Lots of businesses use them.
Not really. We control the marketing in the U.S. We are currently so tight on all of our whiskey brands that we are not in a position to introduce the various proofs seen in Japan. In addition, by producing a single proof in the states, we can limit the amount of goods parallel shipped into Japan.
Ken